New Jersey Devils: Jack Hughes Will be a New York Rangers Nightmare

Tomorrow night will mark the first time this year that the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils will face off. Jack Hughes will unfortunately not be playing against Kappo Kakko, but there will be plenty of moments between the two this year. Seeing Kakko against the Devils will be the first of many intriguing and story-filled games between these two players and teams.

This will be Kakko’s first pre-season game. On Monday night, Mr. America Jack Hughes himself scored two goals in his debut. One was an overtime winner. Not a bad start to what we hope is a great career.

Ranger fans out there need to get used to this, because Jack Hughes is going to make a career out of making you miserable. You may as well try to accept it now. If he plays on Friday night, you’ll see his brilliance in bits and pieces, but it will be understood early exactly how gifted he really is. You’ll see his supreme vision for the ice, something Kakko can’t come close to matching.

What is the knock on Hughes from the Ranger fan base? His size, right? In a day and age of hockey when size is not nearly as important as it once was. The likes of Johnny Gaudreau, Brayden Point, and Patrick Kane, just to name a few, have faired just fine over the years in this league considering they are vertically challenged.

So, for argument’s sake, let’s throw the size thing out the window.

How about that Kakko has played with men while he’s developed and Hughes has played among boys? There is no denying this fact. Kakko has played with older people in Finland as well as performing well in the World Championships among some of the NHL’s best. The one thing people are forgetting when they make this argument against Hughes is that he’s never met a level of hockey in which he hasn’t been the best at it and the NHL will be no different.

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After years of being around Ranger fans, I know all of the irrational reasoning that they will come up with to validate their number-two pick being better than their rivals number-one pick. The simple answer to any of those reasonings is that Jack Hughes is just better. He’s better now and he’s going to be way better in years to come as he is only getting better with age.

If you want to get down to why he’s better, start with the mental side of things. Hughes is a smarter hockey player than Kakko. Now, don’t get me wrong, Kakko is going to be a top player in the league, but he’ll never rise above Hughes because of what Hughes is able to do from a mental standpoint. He sees the things that no one else can see, very much like Sidney Crosby.

Hughes is also a better skater than Kakko and if you look at film between the two you can see the clear distinction in Hughes’ favor. Lastly, Kakko is a scorer, which is great, but Hughes has an all-around game. As a center, that’s exactly what you want to see, someone who unselfishly dishes the puck and takes the shot when he needs to and it’s a nasty shot he’s got at that.

So, while we will have to wait for the head-to-head matchup between one versus two (maybe only until Friday night) I feel it is my responsibility to let all Ranger fans out there know that your guy is good, but he isn’t Jack Hughes. Kakko is not going to deliver you that fabled Stanley Cup, he isn’t a leader but Jack Hughes is and he’ll raise a cup before you ever do again. He’ll crush your dreams and send you to bed in tears after ripping out your heart in the playoffs. He’ll be an MVP and a Conn Smythe winner all while Kakko is a scoring champion and that’s it. Enjoy the number two Ranger’s fans, that’s a number you will have to get used to for years to come while Jack Hughes runs the show.

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